


You Know that I Could Use Somebody

by stuntin1D



Category: Larry - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bearding, Fake Baby, Fluff, I've always wondered what it's like for this to deal with this PR shit so this is what I imagined, M/M, PR stunts, babygate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6228853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuntin1D/pseuds/stuntin1D
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We've gone through lots of stunts before. Surely this one won't be all too different?" Harry leaned back from him, still maintaining eye contact.</p><p>"I know, I know. But this seems different. I mean, Harry...a *fake baby*? They want me to pretend I'm a father?!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It all went down on a Friday. 

Much, much too early on a Friday. 

Louis was sitting in the straight-backed wooden chair in the big conference room at Modest! Management headquarters, sleep still in his eyes and a beanie lazily thrown across his head. Harry was sitting right next to him, so close they could touch if they wanted to, but they didn't, because Simon was staring directly at them, and so were the other higher-ups in the room.

 

Louis heard what they were saying-they were going over album promotion and touring, but he was tired. It was too early in the morning for a meeting, being it only 8:00 AM. He gazed wistfully out the window and wished he was still in bed, cuddled up next to Harry like he had been only an hour earlier. 

"Louis?" 

Louis snapped back to reality when he heard one of the PR manager's voices directed at him. 

"Oh, sorry." He said quietly. 

The woman, head of Modest's PR named Ann Marie, stared at him for a moment...a moment too long, and Louis felt himself go cold. What. What is it now. Something is happening, he could feel it. 

Liam and Niall were sitting across the table from he and Harry, and they seemed to sense the change in the atmosphere of the room, too. Niall started looking back and forth from the PR woman to Louis, and Liam fiddled with the hem of his shirt. 

"Louis, as you know, your stunt with Eleanor has been over now for some time." She said. 

Louis was still and silent. He could feel his heart picking up speed in his chest. 

"And we need a way to keep your name in the press...help you gain more recognition. Also, this might help with...things...later on." She said the last sentence pointedly, and flashed a look between he and Harry. 

Louis knew what she was alluding to: their coming out. Which he and Harry would never do under Modest because they would wreck both of their reputations...also probably the band as a whole. Also, he hated Modest. Hated the company with all of his being. They had shoved him into the closet and forced him there, not even let him so much as smile at Harry in public, and done so many nasty things over the years. 

"What is ~this~?" Louis asked. 

The woman smiled a tight-lipped smile and flipped open a laptop. She typed on it for a few seconds and up popped a picture of a blond woman. 

"This is Briana Jungwirth." She said. 

"And this..." She clicked another picture and flipped the laptop around to show the room, "Is Danielle Campbell." 

Louis felt himself go sort of numb all over. He knew what was coming. Another beard. Another stunt. Another fake relationship. He didn't know how many more of these he could take before he got fed up.

"So." 

"So, Louis, this will get a little bit complicated, so I need you to pay attention." She said. She flashed a look around at the boys, "Actually, I need you all to pay attention, because you'll be helping out, too."

"Okay, so Louis, we are going to set it up so you will be seen clubbing with Briana. We'll call the paparazzi and everything. Just casual, you know." 

Louis already felt annoyed. He didn't want to party with some random woman. 

"So that'll get Briana into some people's consciousnesses, you know, wondering who she is, so we'll have a link back to her when..." She paused for a moment and looked at Simon, who was sitting next to her. 

He nodded silently, a thin smile on his face. 

"When it's announced that she is pregnant with your child." 

Before Louis even had a chance to react, before the information had even sunk in, he felt Harry immediately tense up beside him and a small gasp escape his lips. He knew this was going to be bad. 

"W..What?!" Harry was the first one to speak. 

Louis saw Simon shoot him a dirty look and suddenly all he wanted to do was wring his neck. 

"Harry, I'm talking to Louis right now." Ann Marie said. 

"Well I'm thinking the same thing-what the bloody hell!" 

"Calm down, I'll explain." She said nonchalantly. "Of course it's fake. Briana won't even be pregnant, we'll just tell her to wear looser shirts. And when she gets...farther along...we'll put a prosthetic bump on her, like one they use in the movies." 

Louis felt like he might be sick, he didn't know. This was too much information at once. 

Ann Marie seemed unaware of this as she continued talking. 

"Now, this will solidify your image as straight, and also, like I said earlier, get your name in the press a lot more. Okay, so do you understand that part of it?" 

Louis, somehow, found him nodding, as if he was in a daze. 

He glanced up quickly to see Niall looking at Ann Marie, a disgusted look on his face, and Liam still staring at his shirt. 

"Great!" Ann Marie clapped her hands together. "Now on to the next part...stage two, shall we say. Now so don't know if I made this clear but you won't actually be dating Briana. It'll just be explained as like, a one-night-stand sort of thing. You'll actually be stunting with Danielle." 

"Oh, and also, when the baby...arrives," she laughs at this, as if it's somehow humorous, when oh god, all Louis can think is he might puke right here and now, "We'll need you to do a few photoshoots with it, and talk about it in some interviews, of course." 

"How can I do a photoshoot with a baby that doesn't even exist." Louis hears his voice come out, but it sounds foreign to his own ears, icy and raw. 

Ann Marie laughed again, and he felt Harry tense up again beside him. Harry was getting angry, Louis could tell. 

"We'll hire out baby actors to do it, or use a realistic-looking baby doll, of course." 

Ann Marie turned to Liam and Niall. 

"Liam, we will need your help throughout this. You will need to speak on it in some interviews, maybe do more than that, I don't know yet." 

Liam clenched his jaw together tightly and nodded. 

"Harry, you're not to say a word about this in interviews or on social media. Understand? People already speculate about you and Louis enough, if you come off as not genuinely excited for Louis or sarcastic or annoyed it'll fuel the rumors." 

Harry didn't speak for the longest time, and then he said, 

"I. Thought. This. Was supposed. To make. it easier. For us. To. Come. Out." His words came out short and choppy, broken up by the hard edge of anger and resentment. 

Louis quickly and subtly slid his leg across Harry's bare skin around his ankle and linked his own ankle around his. He felt Harry shiver slightly upon the touch, and he smiled vaguely. He was used to the secret touches like this in public places where no one was supposed to know about them. 

Simon interjected when Ann Marie was about to speak. "It will, eventually." He said crisply. 

Louis didn't believe a word he said. He hated Simon, too. 

But the explanation Ann Marie gave made sense, and he begrudgingly accepted it. 

Before they were let out of the meeting, Ann Marie said, "Louis, I'm scheduling you to go clubbing with Briana next week. We'll have another meeting next Monday then, same time?" 

The boys all nodded quietly and walked out of the room, single file, Niall, then Liam, then Harry, and finally Louis. 

They headed out the back door where their cars were waiting for them. Liam's bodyguard had driven him and they left, and Niall hopped in his car and drove off. It was just Harry and Louis, standing in front of Harry's Range Rover that they had driven over in. 

"You got my keys." Harry said, his voice low. 

"Oh." Louis forgot he had driven and the keys were now in the pocket of his jean jacket. He fished them out and handed them to Harry. "Sorry." 

They drove home in silence. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As soon as the door to their house closed behind them, Louis started talking all in a rush, as if the bubble of silence on the car ride home had broken. 

"This is bullshit! Total fucking bullshit. I can't believe they're making me do this! Have a fucking fake baby?! Then be ~dating~ some other girl? I want to smash Simon Cowell's face in! I want to be done with Modest! Why do they hate me so much? They won't they let us come out? I don't care what people think, I..." 

His words were cut off when Harry, who had been staring at him the whole time, pressed his body against his and kissed him. Louis felt Harry's chest rising and falling against his own and reached a hand up to tangle in his hair. 

Harry leaned back after a few heated moments and said, "don't worry so much, louis. It'll all work out in the end." 

Louis felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. Of course. Of course Harry would know exactly what to do and say to get him to calm down and think rationally about this.

"We've gone through lots of stunts before. Surely this one won't be all too different?" Harry leaned back from him, still maintaining eye contact. 

"I know, I know. But this seems different. I mean, Harry...a *fake baby*? They want me to pretend I'm a father?!" 

Louis could tell by the way Harry quickly diverted his eyes and started walking around their foyer that he was bothered just as much as he was, he was just better at hiding it. 

"I...I know. It seems awful. Shit, Louis." 

Louis looked up to see Harry's eyes were watery. Tears. 

"What is it?" 

"Just think of the irony." Harry wiped briskly at his eyes and the tears were gone. He laughed harshly, fakely, and Louis felt like he might lose his breakfast again. 

"They won't even let us come out....in fact, to hell with that, they won't let us even *look* at each other in public without giving us dirty looks. And they want you to pretend to have a child with a woman you've never met before in your fucking life." 

Harry ran a hand through his hair wildly and looked at Louis, who hadn't responded yet. 

"Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit." He murmured, not knowing what else to say. He couldn't believe the lengths Modest could, and apparently would, stoop to. 

Harry did that cold laugh again, "Well, I'd better start practicing my poker face for interviews." 

Louis smiled for what felt like the first time today. 

"Yeah, and I better start practicing my fake excitement." 

Harry smiled bleakly, and it made that sick feeling that had been resting in the pit of Louis's stomach since the bomb dropped in the meeting go away just a bit. 

"Well, come on, I'll make us lunch. What would you like?" Harry asked, starting to walk to the kitchen. 

Louis hesitated for just a moment, and Harry, observant as ever, noticed. 

"Lou?" 

"It's just...I'm not really hungry right now. Can we just...go get back in the bed instead?" 

Harry smiled, a real, dimply smile this time. It made Louis's heart warm.

"Of course." 

They climbed back into bed, clothes and all, and pulled the covers up around them. Harry snuggled into Louis, ever the little spoon, and Louis cradled him there, running his fingers through his curly hair softly.

"We'll get through this, right?" Harry whispered. "We got through me and Caroline, and you and Eleanor, and me and Nadine, and me and Taylor..." 

"God, don't talk about Taylor." Louis felt a real shiver go up his spine, and Harry laughed, but he knew the pain that stunt had caused on the both of them. They still felt the effects. 

"Yeah, we'll get through it." Louis said after a few minutes of silence. 

He thought maybe Harry had drifted to sleep when Harry said, "Lou?" 

"Um-hmm." 

"You know what I just thought about?" 

"Hmm?" 

"You're going to have to name the baby...the fake baby." 

"Yeah, so?" 

"Don't..." Harry's voice cracked, and Louis's hand stopped fiddling with his curls. "Don't choose any of the names we picked out for our kids...please." 

Louis's eyes shot open and he snapped up. 

"Harry Edward Styles!" He exclaimed.

Harry opened his eyes. 

"As if I would ever name some fake baby that doesn't even exist that fucking PR set up for me one of *our* baby names...one of the names *we* picked out together for our own children! You think I would do that?!" 

"No. No, I know you wouldn't. I was just...I was being unreasonable. Here, lay back down. Cuddle." 

Harry's voice sounds so small and lost that Louis automatically plopped back down beside him. 

"You're so nice." Harry breathes as he cuddles up next to him, and his voice almost sounds like when he's had one too many Coronas and comes stumbling into bed, mumbling nonsense sweet things to Louis. 

Except this time he's sober, and knows exactly what he's saying. 

"You smell nice. Warm. I love you." He looks up to meet Louis's eyes. 

"Love you too, Hazza." 

Louis knows he's seeking the warmth and protection from the PR stunts and the mess, that they have in the here, in the now. He knows because he's done the same thing so many times before-sought Harry's presence and smile and warmth before seeing him having to embark on a new PR stunt or be out with another beard. It's their way of coping, and so far, it's worked out pretty well.


	2. Chapter Two

Louis grimaced as he scrolled through a badly written tabloid article with pictures of him and Briana clubbing from a few nights prior. 

He scrubbed his hand down his face and mumbled to himself, "This is work. Part of my job. It's all going to work out." 

He hated that "part of his job" right now meant that he was heavily closeted and forced into faking a relationship he wanted no part in. 

"What was that?" Harry asked, walking into the room. He leaned against the sofa Louis was sitting on and took a big bite of the ice cream he was eating. 

Louis wondered if he had seen the pictures yet. Looking at his nonchalant, relaxed expression, he decided he hadn't. 

"Here." Louis handed him his iPhone and let Harry look at the pictures for himself. 

Louis watched Harry's face closely as he read the article and handed Louis his phone back. 

"It's not as bad as it could be." He said, shrugging. "They could have said you were dating her." 

Louis knew he was trying to be cheerful and optimistic about this for him, and he was really grateful for it. It's just...he knew where this was going. In fact, they both did, having been told repeatedly by Modest at the meetings they had gone to within the last week. 

"Yeah, but they set it up so it could be implied later that...something else could have possibly happened." Louis said. He let his words hang in the air, let the weight of them and what he was really meaning sink into Harry.

Harry nodded slowly. "I know." He said. "But hey, we don't need to think about that right now. What do you say we go out to dinner?" 

Louis grinned. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Styles?" 

The color rose a little to Harry's cheeks, making them glow pink, and Louis loved that he still had that effect on Harry. 

Harry smiled. "That's exactly what I'm doing, Mr. Tomlinson." 

"Well then I accept." 

******************************

One of their favorite places to go to eat was this little cafe far enough outside of L.A. that it wasn't too crowded, but close enough where it wasn't too much of a drive from their place. 

They parked their car in the back-they had become friends with the owners and they understood their situation with paparazzi and fans and all of that-and walked inside through the back door, taking their usual table. 

Louis sat across from Harry just so he could admire the way his green eyes sparkled in the light of the candle on the table and how nice his simple white T-shirt looked on him. They had gone casual for this little date, and when Louis felt Harry slip his foot around his Vans-clad ankle, he bit back a grin. 

"You look really nice." Louis breathed. 

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Lou. You do, too. You always look nice." 

They continued their little ways of flirting, thinking they were being subtle. They shared their food with each other and laughed across the table. Harry ordered a glass of wine and Louis a Corona, and they ended up sitting next to each other in the booth, sipping their drinks and finishing up the last of their creme brûlée. 

"This is great." Harry said, cuddling closer to Louis. "This feels like when we first started dating and we'd sneak off from the boys and our bodyguards to have dates somewhere." 

Louis chuckled. "That was a real adrenaline rush." He said. "The boys didn't mind, but our bodyguards weren't too happy about it." 

A silence grew between them, but it wasn't awkward. It was natural; something that happens when you feel perfectly comfortable with someone...even comfortable enough to have a little bit of quiet between the two of you. 

When Harry spoke, his voice was serious, measured. "Louis," He began, and Louis snapped to a attention, "I...I know the next few months aren't going to be easy for you...for either of us." 

He stops, fiddling with the rings on his fingers. Louis laces one of his hands with his and waits patiently for him to continue. 

"And I just want you to know that...I love you and I'm here for you. Even if we're across the world from each other. Even if you're having to pretend you're pregnant with a woman's child. I support you one hundred percent." Harry's voice was coming out in a rush now, as if he was determined to get the words out. 

"I mean, I know you know that but I just wanted to say it again...needed to say it again. Even if Modest is screwing us both over, don't let them get to you. They can't take your pride. At the end of the day, they can't take this-" Harry gestures between Louis and he, and the close way they are sitting together-"away from us." 

Louis feels a lump in his throat and knows his eyes are filling with tears. He feels warm all over, yet a shiver runs up his spine. 

"Shit, Harry," He croaks, "I want to kiss you right now." 

Harry laughs and presses his hand over Louis's, wiping away a tear that was rolling down his cheek. 

"When we get home, love." He whispered in his ear, and this time, the shiver that went up Louis's spine was for a different reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! x


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